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Lake Tahoe Golf
By Bob Enzel
It was mid-August in Lake Tahoe where three
of us lodged comfortably in Incline Village,
NV, home of Diamond Peak Ski Area.
Our intention during our 5-day visit was to
play four different golf courses owned by
either ski resorts or lodging specialists at
the lake or within the beautiful surrounding
pine forest.
In the Tahoe area it was still high season
until Labor Day, but foresight got us
pre-arranged tee times. The thought was to
begin at the easiest course and work our way
up to the more difficult. A nice plan in
theory.
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Our first outing was
Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort Golf Club
which did not fit in easily to our
arrangement. After all was said and
done, our worst scores were at the
Northstar Golf Club. Robert Muir Graves,
who designed this course must have been
awed by the surrounding mountains which
may lull you into a false sense of
ability. The back nine did open up to a
links-style of play, but the wooded
landscape, the rolling greens and wavy
bunkers, while picturesque were not
conducive to low scores.
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The following day we
played the Championship Course at
Incline Village, a course Robert Trent
Jones, Sr., laid out with better players
than us in mind. Our sixteen handicap
did not exactly tear the course up.
Challenging bunkers, water hazards and
pin placements showed us who was boss.
Golf is a fascinating game, bringing to
mind the old saw: One day you can’t do
anything wrong, the next day you can’t
do anything right. Whoever coined the
saying, “the reason it is called golf is
that all the other four letter words
were taken” was no doubt a frustrated
golfer who might have been playing in
Tahoe.
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The Mountain Course
at Incline Village was not on our
schedule: Wednesday was our day to salve
wounds. However, a short session with
renowned Director, Angie Rodriguez
convinced us that missing this course
would haunt us forever. Angie very
kindly squeezed a tee time in for us the
next day…our theoretical day off.
Angie, a former professional golfer in
her own right, runs a splendid par 3-par
4 course tucked in and out of lovely
smelling pine trees, up and down the
mountain that squeezes in a challenging
5,200-yard course. This course can help
tune your short game, but bring extra
balls just in case. Anyone that cannot
hit a long drive--for whatever
reason--can reach all the par 3’s in one
and the four par 4’s in two. A hot or
windy day makes this a perfect course.
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The next morning we
were ready for the big time or so we
thought. The course challenge was Old
Greenwood, a Jack Nicklaus Signature
Course. In addition to the Nicklaus
challenge we were faced with
unseasonable weather that brought in
cold air and rain. A most unusual
happening for mid-August in Tahoe.
Determined to play we opted to out-wait
the rain and by the 14th hole we were
rewarded with a little sunshine to dry
things out for us. A local tournament
that was to take place that day was
cancelled which allowed us to virtually
be the only ones on the course. It was
nice to have a beautiful course all to
ourselves. No one in front slowing us
down and even better, no one behind
pushing us to hurry. A lovely day for
golf despite the ominous beginning.
We played the “three pines” tee box
instead of the “four pines” to
compensate for wet conditions. A
difference of about 500 yards and a
rating of 72.7 rather than 75.2. Even
with the dampness the greens were quite
fast. The Nicklaus-designed sand traps
may be likened to a work of Rorschach
art. But like all sand traps the idea is
to look and admire but don’t experience.
Always, a nice thought, but not
practical.
One of the nicest
starters we’ve ever encountered was
pleasant and helpful; he gave us each a
free course layout book, something that
the Trilogy Golf Course at La Quinta,
charges $6.00 for… (See article on Palm
Springs Golf in GolfSkiandTravel.com)
The Old Greenwood Course is owned and
managed by East West Partners and is
marvelously maintained.
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Our final outing at
Martis Camp was much looked forward to.
One of our group had previously played
and lauded it. We were not disappointed.
A more beautiful course in Tahoe is hard
to find. The finishing hole is equal to,
if not more spectacular than the 18th at
Firestone, even though the massive lodge
that welcomes golfers in the distance
was still under construction.
The downside to playing this course is
that it’s in a private gated community
and is only open to home owners and
their guests. We were guests. Should you
be interested (and wealthy) in becoming
a member, it’s doubtful you will find a
more fulfilling setting for every member
in your family. Matis Camp has it’s own
connecting lift to Northstar Ski Resort
and while it does not have it’s own ski
trails it is a patch above the
Yellowstone Club at Big Sky, Montana. We
were guided through the course by one of
its primary owners, who can drive a mean
golf ball and was also a pleasant
foursome partner.
Tom Fazio designed
the lovely golf course. He made it a
fair test of ability; a thinking
person’s course. It was possible to
score well, if you played intelligently,
but a wrong decision or an errant shot
left you scratching your head as to how
best to recover. Some holes required
playing short as the better part of
valor, i.e., better to take an extra
stroke at the onset then add two or
three on bravado.
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Beautifully manicured
greens with a seismometer rating of 10 1/2.
Miss a lightly-touched two-footer down hill
and you may play a 15 footer on the return.
Pin placements on the green can easily make
the difference between a 27 putt outing to a
40 or higher performance. It’s one heck of a
golf course; A chance to play it should
never be turned down.
These descriptions of the five courses are
meant only as a guide, not as comparables.
Some public, some private, some short, some
long…all were fun. In order of our play:
Rating Slope Yards
Northstar at Tahoe Resort Golf Course
(Tournament) 72.4 140 6946
Championship Course, Incline Village (Black)
74.1 144 7106
Mountain Course, Incline Village (Back) 58.9
104 5237
Old Greenwood (4 Pines) 75.2 140 7518
Martis Camp (Medal) 75.9 141 7751
The Tahoe area has many fine golf courses
that await us at a future date. An on-line
preview at www.laketahoegolf.com/ will give
you choices and location.
The golf season gives way to the ski season
in the Lake Tahoe region. Between Labor Day
and the end of September is a good time to
squeeze in a less expensive tee time.
Check out rates and opening/closing
schedules by clicking to:
www.northstaratahoe.com/
www.golfincline.com/
www.oldgreenwoodgolf.com/
www.martiscamp.com/
Concentration needed for this picturesque
Martis Camp hole
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